


light climbs our loving shadows

by XtaticPearl



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Established Relationship, Getting Back Together, Getting Together, Kissing, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-09-25 07:34:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20373046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XtaticPearl/pseuds/XtaticPearl
Summary: They had tongues sharp enough to hurt each other and lips soft enough to heal - Steve and Tony in love alone, together, and in spaces between both.(Steve and Tony kiss thrice and each time has a different meaning)





	light climbs our loving shadows

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MusicalLuna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MusicalLuna/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Kissing Softly](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/513472) by MusicalLuna. 

> I really hope this does justice to the STUNNING art by Luna that everyone definitely must check out! It's *chef's kiss* beautiful.

i. 

Tony rarely, if ever, pursued those he loved. The chase was good, exciting and challenging, when it was to outwit a fellow charmer or brush lint off a boring phase; love fell on the other end of the spectrum and he wasn’t sure what the rules of _that_ game were.

He wasn’t keen on following anyone until it came to falling in love. Then the tune changed.

It should have been obvious when he had begun following Steve.

“You alright?” Steve’s whisper was dangerously close to getting drowned out by the heartbeat thundering in Tony’s ears but he was hesitant to inch closer. They were pressed shoulders to waist, Steve taking Tony’s weight against the wall, deftly tucked away from the glittering crowd of guests still mingling in the dwindling party.

“Me?” Tony didn’t mean to sound incredulous, especially with the distracting scent of the man eyeing him curiously, "You - you do know what you just did, right? You can see _me_, right?"

"I don't see any other Tony Stark I just kissed around here," Steve pointed out with a hint of amusement, his eyes still watchful as they tracked Tony's gaze, "Did I get something wrong?"

Was it wrong? Tony wasn't so sure about that. 

"Only if you're going to stop with one," Tony suggested, letting Steve take the lead, just this once. He'd figure out what it meant later, he decided. 

ii. 

Apart was a part of their life recently. They woke up in different cities frequently, their messages were shorter with swallowed words, and neither could blame time entirely for any of it. Tony was smart, wicked smart in matters of probabilities and certainties, but for once he wished he wasn't. They had managed to save the world, save their team, save the law from being abused - 

He wasn't sure about them. Had they saved themselves?

"You're leaving?" he asked without looking up from the files he was signing. The September Foundation was still a fledgeling and he insisted that he had to focus more energy towards it, even if Pepper was the official name on top. It probably was a matter of worry that his partner hadn't pursued the line or asked if they could adjust their schedules to make more time despite it. 

"Yeah," Steve pulled his jacket over, the one they had got from their first shopping trip together, turning away to pick up his shoes, "I'll be in DC for a while."

"Okay," Tony agreed, even though it wasn't okay, none of this was okay but he wasn't going to take the lead right now, "Tell Sam I'll send him the upgrades by next week."

He listened for Steve to contradict the subtle message, to tell that he'd be back by the next week. 

"I will," Steve said instead and Tony swallowed back any further questions, looking up when he felt his partner's presence near his chair. He didn't remove his glasses and Steve didn't attempt it either. 

The kiss wasn't cold, wasn't a goodbye really, but maybe they had said their goodbyes a while ago. Steve's eyes were closed when his lips brushed Tony's, just a hint of warmth snatched away when he retreated before Tony could pursue it further. 

"Good luck," Tony whispered, and neither of them questioned why it was a whisper or why it wasn't something more suited to the space between those who loved. Take care, he didn't say. See you soon, it wasn't. 

It was just a matter of luck in the end and Steve left with one last stolen kiss as the mid-noon sun dried the skies. 

iii.

His lips curved into a smile even before wakefulness fully entered his consciousness and Tony felt the dip in the bed at his back. 

"You ready to wake up yet?" Steve teased and Tony cracked his eyes open at the smell of coffee, rolling around to see his husband crouched on the bed with a breakfast tray beside him. 

"It's Sunday," Tony groaned but stretched his arms, letting the sheets fall to his abdomen as he shifted till he could sit up, eyeing the tray with a pleased smile, "Bacon? Aww, you _do_ love me."

"That was all Thor," Steve shrugged a shoulder, crawling up till he could be closer, running a hand through Tony's tousled hair, "If I made it, it would be burnt bacon and that wouldn't prove that I loved you, would it?"

"So you stole a god's breakfast? For me?" Tony batted Steve's hand away when he dragged his hair down his forehead, "That's so much better. Almost worth waking up for."

"It's 11 a.m," Steve thumbed at Tony's goatee with an amused grin, "I've not seen you sleep this much in weeks."

"I've not been this thoroughly worn out in weeks," Tony waggled his brows and laughed at the wink he got in return, "Is this a gloating breakfast, Steven? Is this a 'my dick has insomnia defeating powers' breakfast?"

"It's my breakfast," Steve flicked a finger at Tony's forehead before cupping his cheek, "And I haven't gotten anything in return yet."

"Well, that won't do," Tony muttered with a pleased hum before dragging himself forward to cup Steve's face and pull him in. The blinds were open and the sun filtered in through the tinted windows, throwing golden shadows down Steve's face. There was warmth beneath Tony's palms and the softness of his husband's t-shirt as his grip shifted down to the shoulders. 

Steve let Tony take the lead this time and the last thing Tony saw was him closing his eyes with a soft smile, trusting and welcoming. In the quiet of their space, with a new day around them, they fell back into each other. 

This time Tony wasn't hesitant in pursuing what was worth reaching out for. 

**Author's Note:**

> Touch but my lips with those falr lips of thine,--  
Though mine be not so fair, yet are they red,--  
The kiss shall be thine own as well as mine:  
What seest thou in the ground? hold up thy head:  
Look in mine eyeballs, there thy beauty lies;  
Then why not lips on lips, since eyes in eyes?  
\- Venus and Adonis, William Shakespeare


End file.
